"Jack Vance - The Sorcerer Pharesm" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vance Jack)

inches to well over 12 feet. Cugel approached on tentative feet, but after a glance the workers paid him
no heed, continuing to chisel, grind, scrape, probe and polish with dedicated zeal.
Cugel watched for several minutes, then approached the overseer, a man 3 feet in height who stood
at a lectern consulting the plans spread before him, comparing them to the work in progress by means of
an ingenious optical device. He appeared to note everything at once, calling instructions, chiding,
exhorting against error, instructing the least deft in the use of their tools. To exemplify his remarks he used
a wonderfully extensible forefinger, which reached forth 30 feet to tap at a section of rock, to scratch a
quick diagram, then as swiftly retract.
The foreman drew back a pace or two, temporarily satisfied with the work in progress, and Cugel
came forward. "What intricate effort is this and what is its object?"
"The work is as you see," replied the foreman in a voice of penetrating compass, "From natural rock
we produce specified shapes, at the behest of the sorcerer PharesmтАж Now then! Now then!" The cry
was addressed to a man 3 feet taller than Cugel, who had been striking the stone with a pointed maul. "I
detect over-confidence!" The forefinger shot forth. "Use great care at this juncture; note how the rock
tends to cleave? Strike here a blow of the sixth intensity at the vertical, using a semi-clenched grip; at this
point a fourth-intensity blow groin-wise; then employ a quartergauge bant-iron to remove the swange."
With the work once more going correctly, he fell to studying his plans, shaking his head with a
frown of dissatisfaction. "Much too slow! The craftsmen toil as if in a drugged torpor, or else display a
mulish stupidity. Only yesterday Dadio Fessadil, he of 3 ells with the green kerchief yonder, used a
19-gauge freezing-bar to groove the bead of a small inverted quatrefoil."
Cugel shook his head in surprise, as if never had he heard of so egregious a blunder. And he asked:
"What prompts this inordinate rock-hewing?"
"I cannot say," replied the foreman. "The work has been in progress 318 years, but during this time
Pharesm has never clarified his motives. They must be pointed and definite, for he makes a daily
inspection and is quick to indicate errors." Here he turned aside to consult with a man as tall as Cugel's
knee, who voiced uncertainty as to the pitch of a certain volute. The foreman, consulting an index,
resolved the matter; then he turned back to Cugel, this time with an air of frank appraisal. "You appear
both astute and deft; would you care to take employment? We lack several craftsmen of the half-ell
category, or, if you prefer more forceful manifestations, we can nicely use an apprentice stone-breaker of
16 ells. Your stature is adjusted in either direction, there is identical scope for advancement. As you see I
am a man of 4 ells. I reached the position of Striker in one year, Moulder of Forms in three, Assistant
Chade in ten, and I have now served as Chief Chade for nineteen years. My predecessor was of 2 ells,
and the Chief Chade before him was a 10-ell man." He went on to enumerate advantages of the work,
which included sustenance, shelter, narcotics of choice, nympharium privileges, a stipend starting at ten
terces a day, various other benefits including Pharesm's services as diviner and exorcizer. "Additionally,
Pharesm maintains a conservatory where all may enrich their intellects. I myself take instruction in Insect
Identification, the Heraldry of the Kings of Old Gomaz, Unison Chanting, Practical Catalepsy and
Orthodox Doctrine. You will never find a master more generous than Pharesm the Sorcerer!"
Cugel restrained a smile for the Chief Chade's enthusiasm; still, his stomach was roiling with hunger
and he did not reject the proffer out of hand. "I had never before considered such a career," he said.
"You cite advantages of which I was unaware."
"True; they are not generally known."
"I cannot immediately say yes or no. It is a decision of consequence which I feel I should consider in
all its aspects."
The Chief Chade gave a nod of profound agreement. "We encourage deliberation in our craftsmen,
when every stroke must achieve the desired effect. To repair an inaccuracy of as much as a fingernail's
width the entire block must be removed, a new block fitted into the socket of the old, whereupon all
begins anew. Until the work has reached its previous stage nympharium privileges are denied to all.
Hence, we wish no opportunistic or impulsive newcomers to the group."
Firx, suddenly apprehending that Cugel proposed a delay, made representations of a most agonizing